JASON NEWSTED Says He ‘Didn’t Get’ METALLICA’s ‘St. Anger’ When He First Heard It

Jason Newsted 2017

During a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine, former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted was asked when the last time was that he listened to one of the band’s albums that came out after he left the legendary heavy metal act.

“Never,” he responded. “I heard the one where they made the video in prison [‘St. Anger’ title track]. I heard one song with my dad while we were riding in the car in Michigan, because the radio is still pretty wed to METALLICA, and it went on for-f*cking-ever. It was eight minutes on the radio, and I went, ‘What the f*ck are they doing?’

“No disrespect, but I didn’t get it. It was maybe harking back to the longer songs and the aggression and the tempo. And that stuff takes a lot of energy to play, and with James [HetfieldMETALLICA frontman] going up and down the fretboard like that, no one can touch it. I have a lot of respect for that thing, but I am quite a distance away from that type of music now.

Jason continued: “I still like my heavy songs, but I sing for real now. I play the bass right up high, sing those backing vocals way up high. I still love SEPULTURA and stuff… but it really isn’t the way that I used to. I’d be happy to join them to do that stuff if they wanted me to.

“I still talk to Lars [UlrichMETALLICA drummer] a fair bit, and I send him my stuff and he’s always super-supportive,” he added. “I really appreciate it, and I respect his opinion. If he called me and asked if I wanted to throw down, I’d say yes, but I’m not sure if I’d say yes to anyone else.”